EPDs vs Company Carbon Footprints: What Are the Differences?

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and company carbon footprints both measure environmental impact, but they answer different questions. This article explains what each one covers, how they differ and how they work together.

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EPDs: the environmental profile of a product

An EPD is a standardised, independently verified document that reports the environmental impact of a specific product. The results come from a life cycle assessment (LCA) that follows the relevant Product Category Rules (PCR). Depending on the product and the rules that apply, an EPD can cover:

• raw material supply and processing
• transport and manufacturing
• construction, use and maintenance
• end of life, including demolition, recycling and disposal

Because EPDs for the same product type follow the same rules, buyers and designers can use them to compare similar products from different manufacturers. This makes EPDs a key tool for transparency and for low-carbon procurement.

EPDs are voluntary in many markets, but they are increasingly requested by clients and required by public procurement rules and green building schemes. For manufacturers, they are also a practical way to understand where a product's impacts come from and where to improve.

Company carbon footprint: the whole organisation

A company carbon footprint measures the greenhouse gas emissions of an entire organisation. It covers the company's own operations and, increasingly, its value chain. Typical sources include:

• fuel and energy used across all sites
• process emissions from production
• purchased electricity, heat and steam
• transport, purchased goods and other supply chain activities

Most companies calculate their footprint using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), an internationally recognised framework for measuring and reporting emissions. It groups emissions into three scopes:

• Scope 1: direct emissions from sources the company owns or controls, such as fuel burned in kilns or boilers
• Scope 2: indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat or steam
• Scope 3: all other indirect emissions in the value chain, such as raw material extraction, transport and the use of sold products

Following the GHG Protocol makes company reporting more consistent and comparable over time.

The key differences

*For some products, such as cement, the scope can be limited to cradle to gate (modules A1 to A3).

How they work together

The two approaches are different but complementary:

• EPDs show where a specific product's impacts come from, so manufacturers can target improvements product by product.
• A company footprint shows the bigger picture, helping set company-wide targets and strategy.
• Much of the data overlaps. Plant energy use and process emissions feed both, so good data collection supports both at once.

Buyers can use EPDs to choose lower-impact products, while companies can use both EPDs and footprint data to guide their decarbonisation and communicate progress clearly.

The takeaway

EPDs describe the impact of a product across its life cycle. A company carbon footprint describes the emissions of the whole organisation, usually following the GHG Protocol. Both are needed for informed decisions, and both will play a growing role as low-carbon procurement and climate reporting expand.

Want to produce EPDs for your cement or concrete products? Find out about the GCCA EPD Tool or request a demonstration.